Opinions - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Take a chance, give audiobooks a try

Mar. 15, 2016

When I was in elementary school, I spent a lot of time in the car. Whether it was driving my siblings and myself to the various interests that occupied our time, such as dance class or soccer practice, driving us all to school and back every day like an absolute saint, or driving the family off across the country on vacation, my lovely, self-sacrificing parents did a lot of driving three young, talkative, easily riled-up kids around. Not to sound like someone who despises technology — because I don’t — but they managed to do this day in and day out without the helpful distraction of an iPad for small, sticky fingers to latch onto. I applaud their self-control, and I must remember to call home more often.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Why are we fascinated by anti-heroes?

Mar. 14, 2016

Whether you like it or not, we live in a cultural climate dominated by the anti-hero. Not to be confused with a full-blown villain, an anti-hero by definition lacks the upright moral character and endearing qualities of the traditional heroes we’ve come to know so well in mainstream culture. This quite often takes the form of questionable means to an end, an unpredictable narrative trajectory and unsavory moral flaws.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Guest Column: The importance of women's history in building the feminist movement

Mar. 14, 2016

History teaches us lessons about how people organized to change the world — lessons in victories and lessons in failures. The women’s liberation movement made innumerable gains for women, from being able to wear pants on campus and having credit in our own names to having access to birth control in marriage. But the point isn’t just to learn about history; it’s to use that knowledge to change — and make — history. We can learn from the victories of previous movements, adopt their techniques and improve them if necessary. We can study our predecessors’ failures, analyze them and make sure not to repeat them.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: To disparage bad wind is really dis-gust-ing

Mar. 14, 2016

Whoa. Where am I? Just a minute ago, I was walking down University Avenue, but before I knew it, I blacked out and woke up in the opinions section of the Alligator.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Endorsements - Gainesville city elections

Mar. 14, 2016

It’s the fight of the century: Gainesville city elections, in which residents will vote for candidates for mayor and District 4 city commissioner.

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Sink or swim, we're all in this together - so vote

Mar. 13, 2016

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OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Our various technologies prohibit introspection

Mar. 13, 2016

We live lives without half-lives.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Why UF Law is still worth it

Mar. 13, 2016

Two weeks ago, the UF Levin College of Law hosted its first Double Gator Reception, an event in which professors, administrators, alumni and potential law students could meet and mingle.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: The differences between Sanders and Clinton on incarceration

Mar. 13, 2016

The U.S. has the second-highest prison population rate, according to the Institute for Criminal Policy Research and the World Prison Brief. While the U.S. touts itself as the “home of the free,” this seems contradictory to American values. Mass incarceration is a lose-lose problem: Those who are needlessly incarcerated lose the ability to integrate easily into society and the taxpayers are footing the bill for something that ultimately does not make us any safer. According to the University of Chicago Crime Lab, the costs for housing an inmate can be around $30,000 a year, but this does not take into account the social costs of high rates of incarceration.

OPINION | DARTS LAURELS

Darts & Laurels: 03/11/2016

Mar. 10, 2016

Getting back into the swing of things after a week off is usually extremely difficult. It’s hard to wake up for those 7:25 a.m. classes, pull all-nighters and eat Top Ramen after a week of sleeping in until noon, lounging by the pool or beach and eating home-cooked meals — that is, if you went home.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Internalized misogyny: common comments and why they’re bad

Mar. 10, 2016

We’re all guilty of it. Even a diehard feminist like myself has the occasional “ugh, get a load of her” moment when confronted with a scantily clad girl at a party. Internalized misogyny is the act of women elevating the status of men through demeaning the value of other women. At its most overt, internalized misogyny manifests as women openly tearing down other women. However, a far more subtle manifestation exists in the remarks women make day to day. It’s so subtle we may not even realize what we’re doing. In this column, I’m going to identify three very common internally misogynistic remarks I’ve heard — and made! — and explain the damage they do to feminism.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Exit stage right, exit stage left

Mar. 10, 2016

Recent polls indicate the U.K. is leaning closer toward exiting the European Union, and June 23, Britons may decide to do just that via national referendum. The odds seem to be against this. Britons overall have a long history of being supportive toward remaining part of the Union, but with the most recent Telegraph poll, indicating about 49 percent of Britons favor leaving, the U.K.’s status in Europe — and by extension, the world — appears tenuous.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: America's voting age should be raised

Mar. 9, 2016

"The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.” —Winston Churchill

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Political parties aside, let's respect each other

Mar. 9, 2016

The news of presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., coming to UF has spread across the Swamp. Some are singing his praises, already planning on lining up at 5 a.m. for the opportunity to hear Sanders speak. Others, however, are not responding so kindly.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Books to counter anti-abortionists

Mar. 8, 2016

I was going to take time in this column to wow my potential reader with the concept of the “Library Bar”: a holy sanctuary of alcoholic beverages and dog-eared, good-smelling books, which would have been gloriously fun to write about.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Read a damn book and feed your mind

Mar. 8, 2016

Just like the stomach, the human brain needs nourishment.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: English is not the American national language

Mar. 8, 2016

"You want to be in America, A) You’d better be here legally or you’re out of here; B) When you’re here, let’s speak American.” — Sarah Palin

OPINION | EDITORIALS

Editorial: Pro-life is pro-inconsistency

Mar. 8, 2016

If you step foot on UF’s campus today, there’s probably a 110-percent chance you’ll run into Created Equal, the pro-life organization that comes to Turlington Plaza and Plaza of the Americas every Spring with posters and grand screenings of graphic imagery. Thankfully, they couldn’t afford the giant screen this semester. We at the Alligator boiled down their message to one sentence: Human life begins at conception; therefore, abortion should be considered the illegal murder of innocent human beings.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: How hard is it to recycle a bottle?

Mar. 7, 2016

Sometime in elementary school or one summer day while visiting a zoo and being shown a cute and cuddly endangered animal, children have been taught how they can do their part to save the environment for the past two decades. All they have to do is throw trash in the correct containers. Unfortunately, it seems many forget this important lesson somewhere down the road.

OPINION | COLUMNS

Column: Spring Break trips can offer so much more

Mar. 7, 2016

When I first mentioned my trip to El Salvador to friends, family and acquaintances, the overwhelming majority of responses followed a certain pattern. First came the raised eyebrows, then the inevitable question: “Is it a mission trip?” After my subsequent response that, no, I wasn’t about to build a church or spread the “good word,” came the warnings. I’ll catch the Zika virus. I’ll be kidnapped and held for ransom. I’ll get food poisoning. They ranged in degree of severity and types of consequences, but they all stemmed from a pervasive fear of “less-developed” countries despite supposed good intentions.